Buttering a hot ear of corn can challenge the patience and dexterity of the most determined diner. The usual approach calls for using a conventional table knife to cut a pat of butter, and attempting to spread the butter over the ear of corn with the knife. As most persons realize, however, the butter pat is quickly softened or melted by heat from the ear of corn, so that the pat becomes awkward to manipulate and spread with a knife. The butter pat may slip off the ear of corn, not infrequently landing at an inopportune location on the diner's plate and in any case leaving the ear partially unbuttered. Consequently, butter is unevenly spread over the ear of corn or may be completely missing from part of the ear.
After the corn is finally buttered, many persons salt the buttered corn to their taste. Although a conventional salt shaker is effective for this purpose, the diner must first put down the buttering knife and then reach for the salt. Moreover, if the diner desires to add more salt after first tasting the buttered ear of corn, the diner must either grip the salt shaker with buttery fingers, leaving a messy shaker for the next person, or else first clean his or her hands before reaching for the salt.
Various devices have been suggested in the prior art for applying butter or salt to an ear of corn or the like. These art devices have generally proven themselves cumbersome, awkward or messy in practice, or have other practical shortcomings which have prevented any widespread acceptance of such devices.